The Color of the Ocean
by mirikue
Summary: Rin and Len are twins who love the ocean. However, when a girl who appears to be a mermaid pulls Len into the water, claiming him as hers, Rin must team up with the girl's brother and go down herself to get him back. POSSIBLE RinxMikuo and LenxMiku.


**Hi everybody! First of all, thanks for deciding to read this, and second of all, I have a few things to warn you about before you read this:**

**This story, as I'm sure you noticed, is NOT RinxLen. I know it also says so in the description, but it's just a precaution. I don't do incest, people. **

**Next is the fact that this chapter is not only short, but, in my opinion, disgustingly cliche. You may not think so, because I find pretty much all of my stories disgustingly cliche, but it's my first attempt at writing a mermaid-style story, so... yeah.**

**ALSO, this is also my first attempt at writing in this perspective, so I'm sorry if it seems...awkward. I tried.**

**I OWN NOTHING BUT THE WRITING, HAVE A NICE DAY.**

* * *

Rin Kagamine stands on the edge of the rock, the ocean crashing against it. The wind whips through her short blond hair, blowing it back and giving her an exhilarating rush. The salty air is sharp as she breathes it in, and she gulps it greedily, wanting more of the bitter tang it brings.

Rin loves the ocean.

Next to her sits her twin brother, Len, who dips a hand into the cool water below them and smiles. His tousled hair is the same honey-blond as Rin's, and it jumps and dances in the wind, his bangs swept back from his face. He peers down into the depths of the water-the tide is starting to come in. He stands up and flings the sea foam on his hand at Rin. "It's time to go."

Rin frowns. "Fine, then."

The twins jump off of the rock and onto the damp sand behind it. The minute Rin's bare feet hit the sand she takes off in the direction of their house, leaving Len to grab their shoes. He does so and runs after her.

Neither of them notice the pair of bright aquamarine eyes watching everything closely.

* * *

The next day they go back to the rock. Rin sits, swinging her legs over the edge and lightly kicking small bursts of water into the air. Len plops down next to her and closes his eyes momentarily as a gust of wind comes by. The waves slosh peacefully in the background and the sun shines down on his face, warming his cheeks. Rin stares down at the water, suddenly looking up at Len. "Len!"

Len barely cracks one eye open so that he sees his sister through a tiny sliver of vision. "What, Rin?"

"What do you think it'd be like to breathe underwater?"

Len fully opens his eyes and tilts his head slightly. "Well, I think it would be kind of like breathing air, but heavier and more...fluid. It would flow through your lungs, or gills, or whatever, and give you a sort of...balanced feeling. Like you'd be running on water like a car runs on gas."

Rin nods, satisfied. She turns back to the water and jumps back in surprise as a dainty hand reaches out and latches onto Len's wrist. A girl's head comes into view, seeming to materialize out of the water. Her skin is almost white, and her hair and eyes are a deep teal color. She is extremely beautiful, but it is not this fact that causes Rin and Len to gape at her.

It is the fact that she has a fish tail.

"Tail" doesn't seem to be the proper word for it, as "tail", Rin thinks, makes her sound like an animal. No, this is most definitely not a tail. It shimmers with an iridescent aqua sheen, seeming to flawlessly blend with the rest of her body, which is human from the waist up. Combined with the exotic teal of her long hair, billowing around her in the water, she has an alluring sort of beauty that simply refuses to allow anyone to take their eyes off her.

Len slowly looks down to her hand, which is still clasping his wrist, and then back at her. Her perfect red lips arch into a sweet smile. "You're exactly right." Her voice is melodious and bell-like, with a lilt to it that makes Len wonder what her singing voice sounds like. He dully realizes that she is referring to his ideas about breathing underwater before she whispers something into his ear and her immediately blacks out.

Rin watches in horror as the girl pulls Len into the water, where he floats limply. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

The girl wraps her arms around Rin's brother. "He's mine now."

And with those simple words, she slips into the water, taking Len with her.

Rin snaps out of her dazed state and dives into the water after her. The weightless sensation that she would usually take time to savor envelops her, but she ignores it completely and propels herself forward, her sapphire-blue eyes searching the water frantically. _They have to be here...they just have to be!_

But the two are nowhere to be seen.

Rin surfaces and takes a huge gulp of the salty air she had loved so much. Her now-stringy hair hangs past her shoulders, dripping sea water. She goes back under and looks around once more. Over and over. The sun begins to go down, but Rin still refuses to give up. She has to find Len. No matter what.

The moon is high when she finally pulls herself back onto the rock, exhausted. Water droplets slide from her shivering form as she pants weakly. Rin is not the type of girl who cries easily, but tears still leak from her eyes as she pathetically forces herself up and stumbles home.

* * *

Rin mechanically goes back to the rock the next day. She knows instinctively that this will become routine for her until she finds Len. She feels like a burnt-out shell of herself as the wind blows through her hair and she gazes down into the water listlessly. She is about to jump in, ignoring a small voice inside of her telling her that it's hopeless, when a bright aqua color passes in front of her vision. It's different than the clear greenish tone of the sea, richer somehow. Rin immediately tenses up, as she sees a head pop up out of the water, connected to a neck, connected to a torso, connected to...yep, a fish tail. But she frowns as she abruptly realizes that this is not the same...creature. Its upper half resembles a human boy. He looks uncannily like the girl that dragged Len down into the depths of the ocean. His teal hair is short and cut cleanly, his bangs somehow still retaining their slight volume even though they're wet. His skin seems to have a bit more life to it, however; where the girl's was almost bone-white, his is pale but relatively natural. He is handsome and...Rin flushes slightly, _shirtless_, but she knows better than to be drawn in by his appearance.

She crouches down warily. "Who are you?"

He looks up at her but makes no move to drag her in, so she relaxes slightly. Slightly. "My name is Mikuo. I'm the brother of that girl you saw yesterday, Miku. You know, the one who pulled your brother in?"

Rin frowns. "Yes, I remember. What do you want?"

Mikuo's eyes are the same as Miku's, and they begin to unnerve Rin. "Well, she technically wasn't supposed to just drag him in like that. She's pretty much taken him hostage, so before she does anything I just came to ask you if you, like, cared."

Rin narrows her own eyes. "Of course! He's my brother, I want him back!"

Mikuo presses his lips together. "It's not that simple. We can't just take him back-I mean, Miku is definitely not going to allow it. But if you want him back that badly, then you technically have the right to try and go after him."

"HOW? I can't breathe underwater or do any of that crap!" Rin starts to get aggravated. "And he can't either, last time I checked! HE'S NOT EVEN ALIVE ANYMORE! YOUR SISTER KILLED HIM!"

Mikuo meets her eyes, and something in his gaze stops her. "He is alive. She used the utau mechanism, so he's definitely alive."

"What's the...utau mechanism?" Rin isn't sure she wants to know.

Mikuo sighs. "It's basically what you saw her do. She whispered something in his ear and he went unconscious, right? That would be the utau mechanism."

Rin is more curious than angry now. "What does utau mean?"

"Well, the mechanism was created by the utaus, so…"

"Utaus?"

"A species similar to...ours." Mikuo gestures to his tail.

Rin peers through the water to his tail. She had forgotten it was there. Mikuo just seemed so...agreeable, and normal, and human. "What are you, exactly…?"

Mikuo frowns. "Well, your species calls us mermaids, or mermen, but that's not the actual name." He speaks a word that seems to come to life in the air. Rin doesn't understand the language, but it's very fluid and pleasing to the ear. It seems almost elegant in a way. "That's what we're called. It doesn't really translate to anything, though. Just call us crypti."

"Why crypti?"

"Long story short, the community underwater is known as Crypton, so…"

Rin bites her lip. "So, you said something about saving Len…?"

Mikuo nods. "Yeah. If you want to get him back, then…"

"How?"

His eyes widen in surprise. "You're actually going to do it?"

"Of course!"

"Well, I can bring you under, but...are you sure?"

"Yes!" Rin refuses to have any second thoughts.

Mikuo sighs and tosses her a small pearl-like bead. She threads it onto the short leather cord round her neck and looks at him inquisitively. He grabs her wrist, like Miku did to Len, and Rin hesitates. She wants to save Len, but can she really trust this...thing? He's acting so nice, but it's all just an act in the end, isn't it?

Mikuo jerks his head towards the water, indicating that she should get in. Rin takes a deep breath. No second thoughts. This is for Len.

She dives into the water.

Rin's T-shirt billows loosely around her, and she turns to Mikuo, still holding her breath. He speaks, a flurry of bubbles escaping from his mouth. She doesn't really hear the sound, but it reverberates in her head. "You can breathe."

Rin doesn't trust Mikuo, but she hesitantly allows water to enter her lungs and finds that he is telling the truth. So this is the power of that small pearl thing...It's just how Len imagined it to be like, and Rin feels a pang of sadness that her brother isn't there to experience it. No, Rin! Focus! Maybe he already has, anyway…

Mikuo pulls her forward, and she kicks her legs back and forth to go faster. She feels almost clumsy next to him as she watches his smooth tail move hypnotically up and down. It's not at all like what one would expect. There are no scales, just slick, seal-like skin that blends perfectly into his torso and flows naturally with his body.

It almost makes Rin wish she had a tail as well, but she shakes her head and tells herself to snap out of it.

* * *

Len is floating. He is rocked back and forth gently, and tries to open his eyes but is immediately lulled back into his relaxed state. Sleep, a voice in his head seems to say, just relax. Keep your eyes closed. He is immediately filled with the desire to obey and slip farther into his trance-like state but a small part of him fights back. Len frowns slightly, his eyes still shut tight. He hears what sounds like a giggle, but it is distant and muffled through the haze in his mind. The voice sounds familiar… No, sleep! The voice inside his head pushes harder. That does it.

Len opens his eyes.

The most beautiful girl he has ever seen turns toward him. She looks familiar, and it takes Len a moment to realize that it is the very same girl who was talking to him and Rin. He frowns. She pulled him down, said something into his ear, and then…nothing. He studies her curiously. Her milky white skin gives her an ethereal quality, adding to her beauty even more, and her tail gleams softly. A long, sheer turquoise scarf drifts around her neck and shoulders, caressing her arms and her pale, lean stomach, which is exposed underneath the bikini top she wears. Delicate silver circlets ring her biceps, and her long teal hair is even more stunning now that he can see all of it. She is breathtaking.

Her face, which is slightly childish and mature at the same time, houses two incredible aqua jewels serving as her eyes. Never before has Len seen eyes so beautiful. He opens his mouth, then closes it again. She giggles lightly, and the sound sends a shock through him, but it's a good shock. Len finally manages to speak. "Where am I?"

The girl swims up to him. "In my palace."

"Palace…? Um, who...are you? And why am I not dead? We're underwater...right?"

The girl shifts so that her long hair floats to the side. "My name is Miku. And yes, we're underwater. But you're safe. I used the utau mechanism on you."

"The utau…? What does that mean…?" Len looks around apprehensively. However beautiful this girl may be, he doesn't know her, and he has no idea how he got here. Her "palace" seems to be quite large; the room he's in has ornate pillars spiraling up to the high ceiling and a fountain spurting some strange iridescent substance instead of water.

She shakes her head, a gentle movement that causes her hair to ripple gently. "You'll know soon enough. For now, we need to begin the process…"

Len furrows his brow. "What process...for what?"

Miku laughs softly and leans close, lifting his chin slightly as her gaze sweeps over Len's face. "To make you one of us."

* * *

**So...yeah. That's that. I am sorry about the crappiness of this particular chapter, but I decided to post it because YOLO. Oh, right, to all the RinLen fans who read my other story, yes, I'm sorry, I'm a traitor, etc. But CEASE YOUR ANGER/WORRYING/WHATEVER THE HECK YOU'RE FEELING! Because I have another RinxLen fic coming for y'all! Anyway, reviews for this story, please, even though like half the chapter was focused on describing Miku?**


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